Your Faith Journey - Finding God Through Words, Song and Praise

This is a special musical performance of the Calypso Lord's Prayer from the Joyful Noise children's choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

As I studied the lessons for today, I could not help but think about last weekend, when yet another alarming attack took place in a California synagogue.  It was horrific to again see someone go into a place of worship, take the life of one person and injure several others.  I think it is important to think about the zealousness that is being voiced and acted upon by a growing number of extremists whose ideologies are anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim, or anti any considered “other.”  The speech and actions proponents of these ideologies are taking are evil.  And, what is so troubling is that such action is borne from a very skewed, distorted perspective of “perceived” righteousness.  No one is more dangerous than one with the power to take life and the one who already has mind and sight set on those who are a perceived threat.  Such a person is a closed circle of a person, a person living in an ideological bubble relying only on the inner coherence of their distorted logic.  They live in a circular form of denial and self-justification in which their authority confirms their argument and their argument justifies their actions and their actions reinforce the appropriateness of their authority.  They are blinded by this circular form of denial and self-justification.  And, quite honestly, violence – whether it be murder, abuse, perpetual verbal assaults, or incessant lying and bearing false witness against others – such violence, in order to be smooth, elegant, and seemingly natural, needs people who are closed circles, living in ideological bubbles. 

I have been pondering this because, today, our first lesson begins with these words, “Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord….”  Saul was a closed circle of a person, living in an ideological bubble.  And, he was zealously killing the disciples of the Lord.  Saul kills in the name of perceived righteousness and he wants legal permission to do so.  Saul, as he travels the road to Damascus, seeks to possess the authority to take life either through imprisonment or execution.  And, yes, no one is more dangerous than one with the power to take life and who already has mind and sight set on those who are a perceived threat to a safe future.  The disciples of the Lord, the women and men of the Way, have no chance against Saul.  They have no argument and certainly no authority to thwart his zeal.  Saul considers them diaspora betrayers of the faith.  And, he considers them a clear and present danger to Israel.  Saul’s rationality demands his vision and version of justice.  However, there is no rationale for killing that remains intact in the presence of God! 

You see, what Saul does not yet know is that the road to Damascus has changed.  It is space now inhabited by the wayfaring, uncontrollable, untamable Spirit of the Lord.  And, this Spirit of the Lord is one that disrupts the old order by interrupting people’s lives.  As Saul travels this road, while he is pursuing disciples of the Lord, he soon finds out he is the one being pursued by a power greater than his rationale or zeal.  And, Saul, the closed circle, the man who lives in an ideological bubble, is broken open by God.  Saul, the killer, is confronted and stopped in his tracks, and the rationality for his murderous actions is shattered as he has a life-changing experience.  Yes, there is no rationale for killing that remains intact in the presence of God!  The power of this event is overwhelming as the life-changing question comes directly to Saul.  This is a question too massive for him to handle because it is an intimate one that goes to his very heart.  He hears the question, “Why are you hurting me?” 

This question is one that should truly enter each of our hearts and minds.  When we look at our culture, this question flows out of the mouths of the poor, the women and children who do not have enough to make ends meet, the homeless, the immigrant and refugee, any who are abused or oppressed, and all of creation itself.  This question casts a bright, blinding light on the currencies of death in which we incessantly live and travel, the currencies of death in which we too often are complicit.  This question is always before us.  “Why are you hurting me?”  And, it has no good answer.  The only good answer is to stop!  This is God’s question.  It is a question that belongs to God because hurt and pain and suffering have reached their final destination, the body of Jesus. 

Well, as we look back at our passage from Acts, now the divine presence will be revealed to Saul and, in that presence, Saul finds a God of untamable love, mercy and overwhelming grace.  Saul is given a new revelation and knows he is on a road that has been made holy ground.  And, what is so fascinating is that he asks the right question of God, saying, “Who are you, Lord?”  You see, this Lord has a name and the Lord and Jesus are one.  This revelation penetrates Saul’s entire being and it transforms his whole identity.  He turns from the ideological, abstract Lord that was part of his thinking to the very concrete, present Jesus.  He pivots from abstract, what he had considered “holy” faith to holy flesh.  He discovers that the abstract Lord is not found in the faith of Israel or the ideologies and theologies of Judaism, but in the flesh of his neighbor.  Saul moves from an abstract obedience to a concrete one.  He moves from the Lord he aims to please to the One who will direct him according to divine pleasure, grace and love.  And, the man who was once a killer of Jesus’ followers becomes the most passionate of Jesus’ disciples.  He becomes the model of discipleship for the early church.  As theologian William James Jennings says, “Discipleship is principled direction taken flight by the Holy Spirit.  It is the ‘you have heard it said, but I say to you’ – the continued speaking of God bound up in disruption and redirection.”  You see, the untamable, uncontrollable Spirit of God bursts open Saul’s ideological bubble, disrupts Saul’s life, his direction and his entire being and redirects him into the life of discipleship, a life of following where the crucified God leads, a life of following the risen, cosmic Christ.  And, it is the Spirit of the untamable God of love who continually speaks to us, a speaking that is bound up in the disruption and redirection of our very lives.  I know, that is not always comfortable because then we become vulnerable, and then we have to give up our need to control if we are going to follow where that Spirit leads. Can we allow the Spirit to burst our closed circles and ideological bubbles?  Can we be open to that disruption and to that redirection?  Can we be open to that voice of untamable love and follow where the Spirit of God leads?

Saul’s experience was so transformational that he turned from defending the name of the Lord to doing the work of serving Jesus.  And, quite honestly, for this he will soon suffer.  He has crossed that line that separates Christian faith from all other faiths.  He has heard the voice of a crucified God.  Saul experienced the Lord Jesus.  He had an encounter with the Lord Jesus, and this made Saul vulnerable.  Experiencing the Lord Jesus always makes us vulnerable.  For Saul, the abstract Lord and the concrete Jesus have now been connected in Saul’s body and they can never be separated again.  Saul’s life is forever changed.

Friends, the mystery of God is found in human flesh, moving in and with disciples like us who are a communion of suffering and a witness to life.  When we gather together in community, we find the very concrete body of Christ moving among us, with us and in us.  Saul meets a God in Jesus who is no alien to time and space, but one who lives the everyday nitty gritty of life with us.  And, every time we gather together, we, too, meet God in Jesus, the one who lives in the everyday nitty gritty of life with us.  This is incarnation.  As professor Jennings says, “The shared life of Jesus continues with his disciples as he takes hold of their horrors and they participate in his hopes.  The God who confronted Saul, the God who confronts us, is no passive participant in the suffering of the faithful, but one who has reconciled the world and will bring all of us to the day of Jesus Christ.  Saul has entered that new day.”   We have entered that new day!  Live into that new day and the reality of the living Christ!

As I studied the lessons for today, I could not help but think about last weekend, when yet another alarming attack took place in a California synagogue.  It was horrific to again see someone go into a place of worship, take the life of one person and injure several others.  I think it is important to think about the zealousness that is being voiced and acted upon by a growing number of extremists whose ideologies are anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim, or anti any considered “other.”  The speech and actions proponents of these ideologies are taking are evil.  And, what is so troubling is that such action is borne from a very skewed, distorted perspective of “perceived” righteousness.  No one is more dangerous than one with the power to take life and the one who already has mind and sight set on those who are a perceived threat.  Such a person is a closed circle of a person, a person living in an ideological bubble relying only on the inner coherence of their distorted logic.  They live in a circular form of denial and self-justification in which their authority confirms their argument and their argument justifies their actions and their actions reinforce the appropriateness of their authority.  They are blinded by this circular form of denial and self-justification.  And, quite honestly, violence – whether it be murder, abuse, perpetual verbal assaults, or incessant lying and bearing false witness against others – such violence, in order to be smooth, elegant, and seemingly natural, needs people who are closed circles, living in ideological bubbles. 

I have been pondering this because, today, our first lesson begins with these words, “Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord….”  Saul was a closed circle of a person, living in an ideological bubble.  And, he was zealously killing the disciples of the Lord.  Saul kills in the name of perceived righteousness and he wants legal permission to do so.  Saul, as he travels the road to Damascus, seeks to possess the authority to take life either through imprisonment or execution.  And, yes, no one is more dangerous than one with the power to take life and who already has mind and sight set on those who are a perceived threat to a safe future.  The disciples of the Lord, the women and men of the Way, have no chance against Saul.  They have no argument and certainly no authority to thwart his zeal.  Saul considers them diaspora betrayers of the faith.  And, he considers them a clear and present danger to Israel.  Saul’s rationality demands his vision and version of justice.  However, there is no rationale for killing that remains intact in the presence of God! 

You see, what Saul does not yet know is that the road to Damascus has changed.  It is space now inhabited by the wayfaring, uncontrollable, untamable Spirit of the Lord.  And, this Spirit of the Lord is one that disrupts the old order by interrupting people’s lives.  As Saul travels this road, while he is pursuing disciples of the Lord, he soon finds out he is the one being pursued by a power greater than his rationale or zeal.  And, Saul, the closed circle, the man who lives in an ideological bubble, is broken open by God.  Saul, the killer, is confronted and stopped in his tracks, and the rationality for his murderous actions is shattered as he has a life-changing experience.  Yes, there is no rationale for killing that remains intact in the presence of God!  The power of this event is overwhelming as the life-changing question comes directly to Saul.  This is a question too massive for him to handle because it is an intimate one that goes to his very heart.  He hears the question, “Why are you hurting me?” 

This question is one that should truly enter each of our hearts and minds.  When we look at our culture, this question flows out of the mouths of the poor, the women and children who do not have enough to make ends meet, the homeless, the immigrant and refugee, any who are abused or oppressed, and all of creation itself.  This question casts a bright, blinding light on the currencies of death in which we incessantly live and travel, the currencies of death in which we too often are complicit.  This question is always before us.  “Why are you hurting me?”  And, it has no good answer.  The only good answer is to stop!  This is God’s question.  It is a question that belongs to God because hurt and pain and suffering have reached their final destination, the body of Jesus. 

Well, as we look back at our passage from Acts, now the divine presence will be revealed to Saul and, in that presence, Saul finds a God of untamable love, mercy and overwhelming grace.  Saul is given a new revelation and knows he is on a road that has been made holy ground.  And, what is so fascinating is that he asks the right question of God, saying, “Who are you, Lord?”  You see, this Lord has a name and the Lord and Jesus are one.  This revelation penetrates Saul’s entire being and it transforms his whole identity.  He turns from the ideological, abstract Lord that was part of his thinking to the very concrete, present Jesus.  He pivots from abstract, what he had considered “holy” faith to holy flesh.  He discovers that the abstract Lord is not found in the faith of Israel or the ideologies and theologies of Judaism, but in the flesh of his neighbor.  Saul moves from an abstract obedience to a concrete one.  He moves from the Lord he aims to please to the One who will direct him according to divine pleasure, grace and love.  And, the man who was once a killer of Jesus’ followers becomes the most passionate of Jesus’ disciples.  He becomes the model of discipleship for the early church.  As theologian William James Jennings says, “Discipleship is principled direction taken flight by the Holy Spirit.  It is the ‘you have heard it said, but I say to you’ – the continued speaking of God bound up in disruption and redirection.”  You see, the untamable, uncontrollable Spirit of God bursts open Saul’s ideological bubble, disrupts Saul’s life, his direction and his entire being and redirects him into the life of discipleship, a life of following where the crucified God leads, a life of following the risen, cosmic Christ.  And, it is the Spirit of the untamable God of love who continually speaks to us, a speaking that is bound up in the disruption and redirection of our very lives.  I know, that is not always comfortable because then we become vulnerable, and then we have to give up our need to control if we are going to follow where that Spirit leads. Can we allow the Spirit to burst our closed circles and ideological bubbles?  Can we be open to that disruption and to that redirection?  Can we be open to that voice of untamable love and follow where the Spirit of God leads?

Saul’s experience was so transformational that he turned from defending the name of the Lord to doing the work of serving Jesus.  And, quite honestly, for this he will soon suffer.  He has crossed that line that separates Christian faith from all other faiths.  He has heard the voice of a crucified God.  Saul experienced the Lord Jesus.  He had an encounter with the Lord Jesus, and this made Saul vulnerable.  Experiencing the Lord Jesus always makes us vulnerable.  For Saul, the abstract Lord and the concrete Jesus have now been connected in Saul’s body and they can never be separated again.  Saul’s life is forever changed.

Friends, the mystery of God is found in human flesh, moving in and with disciples like us who are a communion of suffering and a witness to life.  When we gather together in community, we find the very concrete body of Christ moving among us, with us and in us.  Saul meets a God in Jesus who is no alien to time and space, but one who lives the everyday nitty gritty of life with us.  And, every time we gather together, we, too, meet God in Jesus, the one who lives in the everyday nitty gritty of life with us.  This is incarnation.  As professor Jennings says, “The shared life of Jesus continues with his disciples as he takes hold of their horrors and they participate in his hopes.  The God who confronted Saul, the God who confronts us, is no passive participant in the suffering of the faithful, but one who has reconciled the world and will bring all of us to the day of Jesus Christ.  Saul has entered that new day.”   We have entered that new day!  Live into that new day and the reality of the living Christ!

This is a special musical presentation by Ryan Thompson of I know That My Redeemer Liveth

This is a special musical presentation by Ryan Thompson of I know That My Redeemer Liveth

Jack Dingledine:  Martin Luther wrote, “The power of God is present in all places, even in the tiniest tree leaf.  Do you think God is sleeping on a pillow in heaven?... God is wholly present in all creation, in every corner, behind you and before you.” 

When Dr. Lisa Dahill was here a few weeks ago, she reminded us that the reality in which all of us live is Christ, the Risen Christ.  In fact, the reality in which each one of us and all of creation exists, is the Christ who has been present from the beginning of creation, from the time of the Big Bang, and continues to be present to us, to all of creation, to the entire cosmos.  The Christ in whom we exist, in whom we live and move and have our being, is the same Christ that took on flesh and blood in the person of Jesus.  Dr. Dahill reminded us that the Christ in whom we and the entire creation exists is all about healing, wholeness, love and reconciliation for the world.  

Tula Ngasala:  In Psalm 118, our Psalm for today, we sing with the ancient Hebrews, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.” Christians have interpreted this rejected “stone” as Christ.  There is a pattern that flows throughout the entirety of Scripture.  And, to our great surprise it is this:  the rejected one is the chosen one.  We see this in scripture stories where we find the younger brother inherits, the widow is fed, and the beggar is healed.  We Christians can also learn to adopt this way of seeing the earth itself: animals, plants, bodies of water, even air. 

Natalie Dingledine:  Far too often we have overlooked these aspects of creation and thought of them as beneath our consideration.  We are at a point in time when we no longer can do this.  With the eyes of faith, we must take an honest look at our changing climate and be candid about our role as human beings in the change taking place before our eyes.   We need to recognize that we are called to see the animals, plants, bodies of water, and the air we breathe as honored parts of God’s creation and live in such a way that we work for the healing of creation.

An honest and credible look at our environment and climate change names the neglect, carelessness and wrongs of industry, civil society and global governmental leadership.  It also recognizes how human beings individually and collectively worsen the attacks on God’s creation. 

Tammy Heilman:  Presiding Bishop, Elizabeth Eaton, wrote the following to members of the ELCA in her 2018 Earth Day statement:

As a church, we must confess our frequent lack of urgency in addressing environmental degradation and slow action to address a changing climate.  We also must pledge to acknowledge the intersections of racial and environmental injustices and strive to involve the voices of those most affected in the process.

In grateful response to God’s grace in Jesus Christ, this church carries out its responsibility for the well-being of society and the environment.   Our concern for the environment is shaped by the Word of God spoken in creation, the Love of God hanging on a cross, and the Breath of God daily renewing the face of the earth.  Our concern is, then, propelled by hope and guided by principles of justice.  We find our hope in the promise of God’s own faithfulness to everything God has made.  We seek justice for all of creation in concert with God’s creative and renewing power.  We do so, understanding that we have the ability and responsibility to act together for the common good, especially for those who are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

Cecelia Kramer:  Presiding Bishop Eaton continues by saying:

 I give thanks for all the ways this church embraces our common responsibility to care for all of God’s creation.  I call on us as individuals and congregations to continue efforts through stewardship, education and advocacy. 

The present moment is a critical and urgent one, filled with both challenge and opportunity to act as individuals, citizens, leaders and communities of faith in solidarity with God’s good creation and in hope for our shared future.  We claim God’s promise in Revelation 21 for “a new heaven and a new earth” as we gather together, work together and pray together.

          Bob Nelson:  If we are to live into Christ as we are called to do, how can we do anything but live into the healing, wholeness, love, reconciliation and restoration of all creation?  As we continue to do the work of caring for creation, we trust in the life-giving breath of God’s Spirit upon us, within us and within all of creation.  And, we again commit ourselves to work together for the healing of creation.  Please join us as together we pray the prayer found in your bulletin:

Almighty God, in giving us dominion over things on earth, you made us coworkers in your creation.  Give us wisdom and reverence to use the resources of nature so that no one may suffer from our abuse of them, and that generations yet to come may continue to praise you for your bounty; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Jack Dingledine:  Martin Luther wrote, “The power of God is present in all places, even in the tiniest tree leaf.  Do you think God is sleeping on a pillow in heaven?... God is wholly present in all creation, in every corner, behind you and before you.” 

When Dr. Lisa Dahill was here a few weeks ago, she reminded us that the reality in which all of us live is Christ, the Risen Christ.  In fact, the reality in which each one of us and all of creation exists, is the Christ who has been present from the beginning of creation, from the time of the Big Bang, and continues to be present to us, to all of creation, to the entire cosmos.  The Christ in whom we exist, in whom we live and move and have our being, is the same Christ that took on flesh and blood in the person of Jesus.  Dr. Dahill reminded us that the Christ in whom we and the entire creation exists is all about healing, wholeness, love and reconciliation for the world.  

Tula Ngasala:  In Psalm 118, our Psalm for today, we sing with the ancient Hebrews, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.” Christians have interpreted this rejected “stone” as Christ.  There is a pattern that flows throughout the entirety of Scripture.  And, to our great surprise it is this:  the rejected one is the chosen one.  We see this in scripture stories where we find the younger brother inherits, the widow is fed, and the beggar is healed.  We Christians can also learn to adopt this way of seeing the earth itself: animals, plants, bodies of water, even air. 

Natalie Dingledine:  Far too often we have overlooked these aspects of creation and thought of them as beneath our consideration.  We are at a point in time when we no longer can do this.  With the eyes of faith, we must take an honest look at our changing climate and be candid about our role as human beings in the change taking place before our eyes.   We need to recognize that we are called to see the animals, plants, bodies of water, and the air we breathe as honored parts of God’s creation and live in such a way that we work for the healing of creation.

An honest and credible look at our environment and climate change names the neglect, carelessness and wrongs of industry, civil society and global governmental leadership.  It also recognizes how human beings individually and collectively worsen the attacks on God’s creation. 

Tammy Heilman:  Presiding Bishop, Elizabeth Eaton, wrote the following to members of the ELCA in her 2018 Earth Day statement:

As a church, we must confess our frequent lack of urgency in addressing environmental degradation and slow action to address a changing climate.  We also must pledge to acknowledge the intersections of racial and environmental injustices and strive to involve the voices of those most affected in the process.

In grateful response to God’s grace in Jesus Christ, this church carries out its responsibility for the well-being of society and the environment.   Our concern for the environment is shaped by the Word of God spoken in creation, the Love of God hanging on a cross, and the Breath of God daily renewing the face of the earth.  Our concern is, then, propelled by hope and guided by principles of justice.  We find our hope in the promise of God’s own faithfulness to everything God has made.  We seek justice for all of creation in concert with God’s creative and renewing power.  We do so, understanding that we have the ability and responsibility to act together for the common good, especially for those who are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

Cecelia Kramer:  Presiding Bishop Eaton continues by saying:

 I give thanks for all the ways this church embraces our common responsibility to care for all of God’s creation.  I call on us as individuals and congregations to continue efforts through stewardship, education and advocacy. 

The present moment is a critical and urgent one, filled with both challenge and opportunity to act as individuals, citizens, leaders and communities of faith in solidarity with God’s good creation and in hope for our shared future.  We claim God’s promise in Revelation 21 for “a new heaven and a new earth” as we gather together, work together and pray together.

          Bob Nelson:  If we are to live into Christ as we are called to do, how can we do anything but live into the healing, wholeness, love, reconciliation and restoration of all creation?  As we continue to do the work of caring for creation, we trust in the life-giving breath of God’s Spirit upon us, within us and within all of creation.  And, we again commit ourselves to work together for the healing of creation.  Please join us as together we pray the prayer found in your bulletin:

Almighty God, in giving us dominion over things on earth, you made us coworkers in your creation.  Give us wisdom and reverence to use the resources of nature so that no one may suffer from our abuse of them, and that generations yet to come may continue to praise you for your bounty; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

KIM O’BRIEN (as Mary):  It has been a horrible, heart-wrenching week.  And over the past couple of days, the silence has been deafening.  Our world seemed to come to an end when our friend, Jesus, died on Friday afternoon.  He had been executed in a ghastly, violent way – executed by crucifixion.  Since that time, the silence had been ear-piercing as our hearts were breaking, so heavy laden with grief.  We had been in such shock we honestly did not known what to do.  Jesus’ body had been buried in a tomb late on Friday afternoon and, because the Sabbath was beginning, we could not even give his body a proper cleansing and anointing, not even a suitable wrapping.  So, today, in the silence of the wee hours of morning and in accordance with Jewish burial customs, some of us decided to go back to Jesus’ tomb and perform the last burial duties with our spices.  We wanted to give Jesus an appropriate burial.  At least that was something we could do for our dear friend.

We got up early and made our way to the tomb in the shadows of early morning, our shadows quietly flitting in and out of the shadows of the landscape as the sun was just beginning to rise.  Now, when any one of us go to a cemetery, we expect to find tombstones and dead bodies.  We expect dead bodies to still be in their graves.  After all, dead people are dead in a graveyard.  And, furthermore, dead people stay dead.  Don’t we all know that and believe that?  I am now thirty-nine years old and, in those thirty-nine years, I have never seen a dead body come back to life.  Anyway, as some of us women decided to break the deafening, grief-filled silence, we arrived at Jesus’ grave expecting to see his dead body lying inside. 

Well, that is not what we saw!  The stone that had blocked the opening of the tomb had been rolled away and, as we walked through that yawning mouth of the open tomb, we found nothing but emptiness.  Our hearts were already empty though filled with grief and breaking apart.  Our hearts could not take much more breaking.  Where was our Lord’s body?  Where could it be?  We were terrified!  Had someone stolen Jesus’ body and if so, why?  Well, in the midst of our fearful, perplexed, anxiety, two men arrived wearing some very luminous clothing.  Light seemed to be cascading all over them.  We were not sure who they were.  Maybe they were otherworldly messengers, we never really knew.  But, they asked us a most startling question.  They asked, “Why are you looking for the Living One in a cemetery?  He is not here but raised up.  Remember how he told you when you were still back in Galilee that he had to be handed over to sinners, be killed on a cross, and in three days rise up?”  Oh!!!  We were stunned!  Those words were penetrating.  They cut through our grief-stricken reality and we began to remember.  Then we remembered what we had forgotten in the depth of our shock and grief.  We remembered our teacher, our Lord, had told us he would be crucified and raised on the third day.  We had not understood what he meant at the time and, truthfully, we could not and did not want to believe his words.  But, when these two men spoke to us, we remembered.  And, we knew Jesus was no longer dead, he was alive – just as he had predicted.  Now bits and pieces of our lives and the stories Jesus had told us were beginning to come together and make sense.  Now we began to understand that what he had told us was really true.  His story was really part of a much bigger story.  His teaching about a new reality, his dream for this world – it really was happening, and his reign was really breaking in on our lives.  Wow!  As we began to understand this, it was transforming our broken hearts, transforming the deadly silence and grief we had been experiencing, and we had to share this news.

PASTOR ELLEN:  Friends, that group of women who went to the tomb on that early morning, went expecting to find death.  And, they were surprised by the greatest of all surprises.  The two men had asked them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?  He is not here but is risen.”  That news puts everything in perspective.  And the truth of the matter is, we – each one of us – are just as guilty of such a fruitless search as we look for the living among the dead.  We too want to tend to the corpses of long dead ideas and ideals.  We, too, cling to former visions of ourselves, our families, former perceptions of reality and even former perceptions of our church as if all that which is gone might come back to life as long as we tightly hold on to it.  We grasp our loved ones too tightly, refusing to allow them to change, to become bigger, or smarter, or stronger, or who they are really meant to become.  We choose to stay in the tombs of what we know in our hearts to be dead, because it is safe and malleable.  We choose, as communities of faith, to stay in tombs where it is safe because we fear adopting new ideas will take us into the unknown.  We choose to stay in tombs of what we know because moving out into the light of the unknown might mean forming new relationships and living into a new identity.  The words of the unworldly messengers are a challenge to each one of us to stop hanging on to the dead.  Their words challenge us to stop living in our tombs.  Their words challenge us to move into new life.  Their words are reminders to us that the Holy One dwells wherever new life bursts forth. (Feasting on the Word, p.351)

“Why do you look for the living among the dead?  Why are you looking for a reality that was alive in a place where you will only find dead things?  Jesus is not here but is risen!”  How will these words change your story?  Where in the essence of who you are do you hear the call to new life – to come out of the tomb you have been sealed in, the tomb of fear or the tomb of hopelessness or the tomb of dreams that have been lost or delayed?  Where are you looking for the living among the dead?  How are you going to receive this good news that has been handed from life to life, from heart to heart, from age to age for two thousand years – this good news that is now handed again to you?

And, how will these words change the world?  What does this good news, this story, still have to say to a world at war, a culture at odds, and a people in pain?  How will we be sure that other people will hear our story of hope?  The boundless gift of the empty tomb cannot be separated from the words and actions of Jesus.   And, resurrection is not some buoyant, cheerful ideal, unconnected to the real world.  It is an invitation to live as Jesus lived, a doorway to a life in which meals are shared with enemies, healing is offered to the hopeless, prophetic challenges are issued to the powerful, and welcome and embrace are given to all our culture considers “the other.”

On that first Easter morning, when the otherworldly messengers pointed the women out of the door of the tomb into the light of the morning, the silence was broken, and the power of God was no longer unspoken.  The women believed and responded by breaking the silence that had been their reality so they could begin speaking a new truth and proclaiming a new reality.  And, yes, it was the women who were the first proclaimers of the Easter Good News! 

Every day, each one of us writes our story again.  And, as we proclaim and live this new reality, what we say is no less true today than it was on that first Easter morning.  This good news is no less miraculous, no less shocking, no less joyful, no less important, no less hopeful and no less life-changing.

“Why do you look for the living among the dead?  Why are you looking for a reality that was alive in a place where you will only find dead things?  Jesus is not here but is risen!”  Go, run and tell the others what you have heard.  Everything is now different.  He is risen, he is risen indeed!  Alleluia!

KIM O’BRIEN (as Mary):  It has been a horrible, heart-wrenching week.  And over the past couple of days, the silence has been deafening.  Our world seemed to come to an end when our friend, Jesus, died on Friday afternoon.  He had been executed in a ghastly, violent way – executed by crucifixion.  Since that time, the silence had been ear-piercing as our hearts were breaking, so heavy laden with grief.  We had been in such shock we honestly did not known what to do.  Jesus’ body had been buried in a tomb late on Friday afternoon and, because the Sabbath was beginning, we could not even give his body a proper cleansing and anointing, not even a suitable wrapping.  So, today, in the silence of the wee hours of morning and in accordance with Jewish burial customs, some of us decided to go back to Jesus’ tomb and perform the last burial duties with our spices.  We wanted to give Jesus an appropriate burial.  At least that was something we could do for our dear friend.

We got up early and made our way to the tomb in the shadows of early morning, our shadows quietly flitting in and out of the shadows of the landscape as the sun was just beginning to rise.  Now, when any one of us go to a cemetery, we expect to find tombstones and dead bodies.  We expect dead bodies to still be in their graves.  After all, dead people are dead in a graveyard.  And, furthermore, dead people stay dead.  Don’t we all know that and believe that?  I am now thirty-nine years old and, in those thirty-nine years, I have never seen a dead body come back to life.  Anyway, as some of us women decided to break the deafening, grief-filled silence, we arrived at Jesus’ grave expecting to see his dead body lying inside. 

Well, that is not what we saw!  The stone that had blocked the opening of the tomb had been rolled away and, as we walked through that yawning mouth of the open tomb, we found nothing but emptiness.  Our hearts were already empty though filled with grief and breaking apart.  Our hearts could not take much more breaking.  Where was our Lord’s body?  Where could it be?  We were terrified!  Had someone stolen Jesus’ body and if so, why?  Well, in the midst of our fearful, perplexed, anxiety, two men arrived wearing some very luminous clothing.  Light seemed to be cascading all over them.  We were not sure who they were.  Maybe they were otherworldly messengers, we never really knew.  But, they asked us a most startling question.  They asked, “Why are you looking for the Living One in a cemetery?  He is not here but raised up.  Remember how he told you when you were still back in Galilee that he had to be handed over to sinners, be killed on a cross, and in three days rise up?”  Oh!!!  We were stunned!  Those words were penetrating.  They cut through our grief-stricken reality and we began to remember.  Then we remembered what we had forgotten in the depth of our shock and grief.  We remembered our teacher, our Lord, had told us he would be crucified and raised on the third day.  We had not understood what he meant at the time and, truthfully, we could not and did not want to believe his words.  But, when these two men spoke to us, we remembered.  And, we knew Jesus was no longer dead, he was alive – just as he had predicted.  Now bits and pieces of our lives and the stories Jesus had told us were beginning to come together and make sense.  Now we began to understand that what he had told us was really true.  His story was really part of a much bigger story.  His teaching about a new reality, his dream for this world – it really was happening, and his reign was really breaking in on our lives.  Wow!  As we began to understand this, it was transforming our broken hearts, transforming the deadly silence and grief we had been experiencing, and we had to share this news.

PASTOR ELLEN:  Friends, that group of women who went to the tomb on that early morning, went expecting to find death.  And, they were surprised by the greatest of all surprises.  The two men had asked them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?  He is not here but is risen.”  That news puts everything in perspective.  And the truth of the matter is, we – each one of us – are just as guilty of such a fruitless search as we look for the living among the dead.  We too want to tend to the corpses of long dead ideas and ideals.  We, too, cling to former visions of ourselves, our families, former perceptions of reality and even former perceptions of our church as if all that which is gone might come back to life as long as we tightly hold on to it.  We grasp our loved ones too tightly, refusing to allow them to change, to become bigger, or smarter, or stronger, or who they are really meant to become.  We choose to stay in the tombs of what we know in our hearts to be dead, because it is safe and malleable.  We choose, as communities of faith, to stay in tombs where it is safe because we fear adopting new ideas will take us into the unknown.  We choose to stay in tombs of what we know because moving out into the light of the unknown might mean forming new relationships and living into a new identity.  The words of the unworldly messengers are a challenge to each one of us to stop hanging on to the dead.  Their words challenge us to stop living in our tombs.  Their words challenge us to move into new life.  Their words are reminders to us that the Holy One dwells wherever new life bursts forth. (Feasting on the Word, p.351)

“Why do you look for the living among the dead?  Why are you looking for a reality that was alive in a place where you will only find dead things?  Jesus is not here but is risen!”  How will these words change your story?  Where in the essence of who you are do you hear the call to new life – to come out of the tomb you have been sealed in, the tomb of fear or the tomb of hopelessness or the tomb of dreams that have been lost or delayed?  Where are you looking for the living among the dead?  How are you going to receive this good news that has been handed from life to life, from heart to heart, from age to age for two thousand years – this good news that is now handed again to you?

And, how will these words change the world?  What does this good news, this story, still have to say to a world at war, a culture at odds, and a people in pain?  How will we be sure that other people will hear our story of hope?  The boundless gift of the empty tomb cannot be separated from the words and actions of Jesus.   And, resurrection is not some buoyant, cheerful ideal, unconnected to the real world.  It is an invitation to live as Jesus lived, a doorway to a life in which meals are shared with enemies, healing is offered to the hopeless, prophetic challenges are issued to the powerful, and welcome and embrace are given to all our culture considers “the other.”

On that first Easter morning, when the otherworldly messengers pointed the women out of the door of the tomb into the light of the morning, the silence was broken, and the power of God was no longer unspoken.  The women believed and responded by breaking the silence that had been their reality so they could begin speaking a new truth and proclaiming a new reality.  And, yes, it was the women who were the first proclaimers of the Easter Good News! 

Every day, each one of us writes our story again.  And, as we proclaim and live this new reality, what we say is no less true today than it was on that first Easter morning.  This good news is no less miraculous, no less shocking, no less joyful, no less important, no less hopeful and no less life-changing.

“Why do you look for the living among the dead?  Why are you looking for a reality that was alive in a place where you will only find dead things?  Jesus is not here but is risen!”  Go, run and tell the others what you have heard.  Everything is now different.  He is risen, he is risen indeed!  Alleluia!

As we prepare for Easter, this is the special Good Friday presentation of the Cantata, Once Upon a Tree.